In the dark hall, seated upon the throne was none other than Aizen.
At that moment, one slender, pale hand lightly propped against his cheek, a faint smile rested on his lips as his deep eyes surveyed the scene below with amusement.
Although no one present had released their power, merely being there, the aura unique to the strong filled the place with an unfathomably eerie atmosphere.
Aizen's gaze slowly settled on the intelligence report in his hand. As he read through it, the interest in his eyes grew increasingly intense.
It was a report concerning the Jashin Cult of the Land of Hot Water, dating back many years.
By now, that Jashin Cult had long since vanished entirely.
As for the reason... just as the report stated, the cult's final recorded act had been the slaughter of several villages in order to complete some sort of Forbidden Technique experiment.
At the thought of the name of the experiment's eventual success, a smile crept onto Aizen's lips.
He lightly pinched the report between his fingers. In the next instant, the paper turned to dust and slowly scattered from his pale hand.
Faintly, a few words seemed to emerge—Hidan.
Aizen sat upon the elevated stone throne, with an expanse of deep darkness behind him.
Yet it did not make him seem particularly terrifying. Rather, it merely added a powerful sense of oppression.
He was like a king who commanded even the darkness itself. Wherever he stood, all things bowed in submission.
Several people stood respectfully beneath him.
If any members of the Akatsuki had been present, they would certainly have been shocked.
For Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, who had always seemed so mysterious in their eyes, had completely lost that air of mystery now!
Instead, they resembled devout believers, respectfully gazing